PUBLIC WORKS

Evening Star, Issue 22445, 16 September 1936, Page 12

PUBLIC WORKS

THE MINISTER’S STATEMENT PROPOSED EXPENDITURE The Public Works Statement, intro, duced into the House of Representatives to-day by the Hon. R, Semple, says, inter alia; — A study of the proposed expenditure on public works for this" year, as indicated in the Public Works Estimates, shows that much the greater portion thereof is needed for means of transport and travel. Under broad headings the proposed expenditure is as follows : £ (1) Construction of moans of communication and transport (railways, highways, roads, harbours, and aerodromes) 5,605,700 (2) Land development, including settlement of unemployed , workers ... 959,000 (3) Erection of public buildings 1,215,000 (4) Development of electric power ' 764,000 £8,543,700 Railways will this year form a much larger proportion of the cost of the first item than they have for the past few years. Work has been recommenced on the Napier-Gisborne Railway, the South Island Mam Trunk Railway, and the Westport-Inangahua Railway. Additional railway construction under the control of the Public Works Department will be the Turakina-Okoia deviation on the Wellington-New Plymouth Railway. The proposed expenditure on road communications is very much larger this year than it has ever been in the past, and is more than half the total for all public works.. Oh main highways alone it is proposed to expend £3,050,000, but more than £2,000,000 of this is received from revenue. ' The Government is anxious to embark on an extensive programme' for the elimination of railway level crossings over main highways, and is prepared to place a very considerable sum of money on the estimates for this purpose. ' The design of these crossings, however, involves in each case a problem of its own, and some time must elapse before the full effect of the programme is felt, but I have instructed the department to expedite the work as much as possible. In a few months’ time a very large number of these works will be under way. I am particularly anxious to improve the roads to our backblock settlers in order to give them easy access to their markets and ports of export, and this year over a million pounds will be provided for this purpose, and for the opening up of further lands for development. With the policy of land improvement and reclamation, and improved methods of transport, our reading system must be brought up to a higher standard than has existed in the past. As Minister ot Transport I have a particular interest in improved road conditions, and propose to do all I can to render our roads safer for modern methods of transport and travel. Railways and roads are pur chief means for the transportation of the products of the country, and the necessities of the community in general, and are still our Frincipal means of passenger travel, but believe the day is not far distant when travel by air will play a big part in the passenger traffic of this country. < A comparatively large vote from the Consolidated Fund is asked for this year for the construction of aerodromes and emergency landing grounds, without which safe and adequate communication by air would be impossible. With an annual provision of this amount, or even less, for the next two or three years I anticipate that air travel in this country will be placed on a safe and satisfactory basis. I consider_ that the construction of aerodromes is at present lagging behind the development of aviation in general. _ The work of erecting public buildings is also very much behind what it should be to keep pace with the development of social and other services of the Government. Instructions were given to the Public Works Department to .considerably increase its staff to cope with this work. This has been done, and the architectural staff has been more than doubled. Anticipating that even this may not wholly meet the demand for public buildings, permission has been given to the heads of the departments for which buildings are required to allocate some work to architects in private practice if it should be necessary. Land development and improvement is considered most desirable by the Government. Irrigation plays a large part in the improvement of our farm lands in the South Island, and the Government is anxious to extend work of this nature provided it can secure to itself an adequate return for the expenditure involved in meeting the annual charges on money borrowed for this purpose. The provision of a sum of £1,030,000, including settlement of unemployed workers, is asked for on the estimates for these works. Hydro-electric supply has received a good deal of my attention since I assumed office. One of the proposed new works to increase power supply was under investigation at Walkaremoana. I was not satisfied that this was a, sufficiently safe proposal, and therefore ordered the work to be stopped until I had an opportunity of going fully into the design of the scheme. This I intend to do as soon as possible. Works for the increase of power supply from Arapuni were well advanced when I took control of the denartment. I am not sure that I would have agreed to this work, but as it had progressed so far I have not taken any steps to prevent its completion. Further electric power will -soon he required to cope with the demand, and a programme of additional work will shortly be considered. As mentioned in my opening remarks, I am desirous of carrying out public works with the heln of the most up-to-date machinery, and I have asked for a considerable sum in my estimates to purchase modern nlant. All new railway works, large road works, irrigation works aerodromes and other works will be well equipped with this plant. T would like to take this opportunity of placing on record mv appreciation of the services of Mr C. J. M'Kenzie, who retired from the position of Engineer-in-Chief on July 21. 1936, on account of ill-health. Mr M'Kenzie’s illness caused concern to every officer of the department. and it was with pleasure that we learned of his continued progress towards a complete recovery. I wish also to place on record my appreciation of the services of the other officers of the department, who have been at all times most willing to cooperate with me in my office as Minister of Public Works.

The estimated net expenditure under tho General Purposes Account of the Public Works Fund for the current financial year, 1936-37, is £4,686,700, and arrangements are being made with tho Minister of Finance to provide the necessary funds. This is the amount shown on the Public Works Estimates, which also show an estimated net expenditure of £764,000 from the Electric Supply Account and £2,752,000 from ' the Main Highways Account, a total for all these accounts of £8,202,700. MAIN HIGHWAYS. Road transport facilities are vital to our national welfare, and communication by land depends at all times on our main traffic arteries being kept up to a high standard of efficiency. Under the present system of control it has happened that trunk routes remain uncompleted because of the inability or unwillingness of a local authority to contribute a reasonable share of the finance involved. In order to unify the control of the principal arterial highways and to ensure that such highways are properly conditioned for continuous service, it is proposed to place approximately 4,000 miles under the direct control of the Main Highways Board. This mileage will be selected from existing mam highways and classified as a State highways system, so that the full cost of improvements to a r&sonable . standard and the proper maintenance of that standard will be. provided wholly froni the Mam Highways Account. This will also relieve local authorities of some financial obligations and enable them to devote needed attention to secondary highways of local importance as well as ordinary county or settlement roads. Tho necessary legislation to give effect to' the foregoing proposal will bo brought down in the near future, I have discussed with the Mam Highways Board some of the details involved in the change contemplated, and tentative arrangements have already been made in anticipation of the scheme being brought into operation. On various occasions it has been declared to be the policy of the .Government to assume the direct responsibility for the expenditure of public monevs, and, as far as possible, to provide for the administration of public activities through the elected representatives of the people. It is therefore proposed to include m the amending legislation provision for regulating the functions of the board in accordance with the policy I have mentioned. In making this statement, however, I do not wish to detract in any way from what the board has accomplished during the past 12 years, because I fully appreciate the excellent service it has rendered in that period. ... .... The extension of the board s j unsdictidn in respect of the proposed State highways system and the intention to retain the board with its present personnel indicate a recognition by the Government of the success achieved under the board’s administration. TOURIST AND HEALTH RESORTS. The expenditure was £13,683, as against £12,880 for the previous year, the main items of which were the purchase of a launch for Milford Soimd, new outdoor bathhouse at Morere Hot Springs, and additions to. the Te Anau Hotel and to Lake House, Waikaremoana. During the current year it is proposed to proceed with the erection of staff quarters at the Chateau Tongariro, huts in the Eglinton Valley, extensions to the Rotorua electric system, and additions to the Hotel Milford, Milford l Sound.